In football the best all-around player on a team usually plays quarterback or running back. In basketball, a team’s most well-rounded player handles many of the important duties.

On a soccer field the most well-rounded player is handed the keys to what is arguably the sport’s most important position: central midfield.

Part first-line defender, part offensive threat, a central midfielder is all field general.

“I’m looking for someone who can play both defense and offense well,” Geneva head coach Tim Estabrook said.

“I need someone who can see the entire field and has the skill to distribute the ball.”

That’s because when a team transitions from defense to offense, the central midfielder is typically the player who decides how the attack develops.

When a team falls back on defense, the central mid turns from the engineer of the offense to the first player in the line of defense. In short, the central midfielder has countless responsibilities and all of them are crucial to a successful soccer team.

“It’s definitely an important position,” St. Charles North midfielder Kyle Wrobleski said. “Without a leader in the middle you can’t get much done.

“There are some things (a central midfielder) can do that other guys sometimes can’t. I can get the ball to other guys and put it in places where other guys can’t put it.”

Confidence is part of the territory when it comes to the position, both a player’s confidence in himself and the coach’s confidence in the player.

“They are in charge of determining how we play,” Estabrook said. “Once the game starts, we don’t get any timeouts so it’s important that the center mid is playing the system of soccer that we need.

“The center mid is really the link between all parts of the team. He must connect with the defenders as well as the forwards. He must be able to incorporate both the left and right side of the field. If our center mid is playing effectively, then we will be in control of the ball. Our forwards will get more offensive opportunities and our defense won’t have to make as many plays.”